


Flames of Preeminent

by kaythenerd



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Blood and Gore, Character Death, Dimension Travel, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Romance, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-27
Updated: 2019-08-27
Packaged: 2020-09-28 04:49:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20420189
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaythenerd/pseuds/kaythenerd
Summary: The frights of nighttime bring a young Lee Minho out to his favourite treehouse where he discovers a boy just like him... but not like him.Or so it was told in his dreams.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter titles are out of order cause a bitch uneducated about how ao3 works yeet.
> 
> [TW] Violence, gore, mentions of suicide.

With a gasp a young boy shot up in his bed at the dead of night. The voice that had called to him in his dreams echoed through his thoughts, sounding like him. He looked around nervously at his pitch black room in worry that he'd see someone standing and ready to attack.

Suddenly he wrenched over when he felt the shift of sheets next to him, letting out a soft cry. Then he frowned.

"Jeongiiiiiin," he whined, attempting to push the little boy over. "Stop sneaking into my rooooom!"

His younger brother did not stir. He huffed, turned over, and shoved his feet off the bed and onto the floor. He stomped out and toward his father's room until he felt the urge to stop and a force pulling at him, almost like someone grabbing for his hand.

His mouth fell open. It felt unreal. It felt... strange, but captivating all the same. As if on instinct he turned to the back door with fear crawling up his neck. He stepped towards it slowly and reached his hand out. This was irrational, he was too young to be doing such things in the middle of the night, especially after hearing weird voices. But he wouldn't sit back and let his curiosity and surreal fears boil in his mind. He's figure out what this weird feeling meant.

And so his feet led him out the door and across the yard to the line of thin trees at the back. Though scared he ran and ran into the woods until the trees got thicker and larger branches snapped beneath his bare feet. He didn't care, he ran around barefoot all the time.

Finally the large shadow looming in the trees was visible and he excitedly climbed up a wooden ladder to his absolute favourite place to be, the treehouse that was built when he was four. Fears now gone he looked around for his notebooks and grabbed his pencils to sketch out what he could remember of his dream in typical bad child-style. He didn't notice the noises crawling through the trees until a harsh noise made him snap to attention.

"AH!" He screamed at the figure who had just slammed down on the floor of the tree house and jumped back. As quick as he could he gripped one pencil tightly in his hand like a knife. "W-who are you?! What do you want!?"

The figure held up its hands and stepped forward, into the moonlight coming through the roof.

He grabbed his flashlight so he wouldn't have to squint, not taking his eyes off the figure, and turned it on quickly. His eyes widened.

In front of him stood a short little blonde boy with an orange hoodie and khakis and little torn white shoes. He looked just as scared and curious. He held up his hands. "I didn't mean to scare you! I-I'm Jisung!"

The boy frowned. "Minho?"

Jisung smiled a little awkwardly. "Hi Minho..."

The tips of his fingers felt tingly, strange. Almost hot. His muscles untensed and he leaned forward a bit curiously. "Where are you from?" he asked slowly. "Did you run away from home?"

The other shook his head, a distant look in his eyes. He gazed around at the room. "Kinda funny, this probably isnt the best place for me to be," he chuckled.

Minho tilted his head. "What d'you mean?"

"Oh!" Jisung cried and stepped forward. "Who cares about where I'm from, you've gotta check this out!" he looked bright and excited, almost cheeky. The look pulled Minho in despite instincts warning to be cautious.

"What is it?!" He scooted closer with curious eyes trained on the other who kneeled in front of him.

Jisung smirked. "Watch this," he flicked his hand almost as if trying to fling something off but instead something appeared. Minho flinched as a small but bright fire burned in Jisung's hand.

"Woah!" Minho cried. "Where are you hiding the lighter?!" He reached for the other's hand in excitement but Jisung pulled it back with a proud look on his face.

"No lighter! Look," he held his hand back out and Minho peered into it. The flame truly was sitting on his palm with no sign of a lighter or anything holding it anywhere. Minho gaped.

"How on earth are you doing that?!" he cried in wonder, eyes wider than saucers.

Jisung giggled. "Magic."

"That's impossible!" Minho waved his hand over the flame and felt its heat, so clearly it wasn't trickery. "H-how?!" he found himself giggling lightly too, the two bursting into fits of laughter together as Jisung flicked the flame away and Minho begged for him to bring it back again.

The blonde looked down at Minho's sketchpaper. He pointed. "Can you hold up a piece of that?"

Minho tore a piece out and held it up. By now he was leaning forward with interest peaked, all sense of caution gone. Jisung told him to stay still and that he wouldn't get hurt and then shifted his arm over to it was out beside him.

"Ready?"

Minho nodded.

Suddenly Jisung thrusted his hand forward a bit and a small blaze of fire shot out and then the paper in his hand was burning. In an instant the paper disappeared, nothing but a few ashes landing on the wooden floor of the tree house.

"Woah!!" Minho grabbed the boy's hands and turned them over, looking all over them as if it would reveal some sort of secret. The other was giggling up a storm.

"You should see it when I have nothing that will burn around me! It's awesome!"

"That's... awesome!" Minho smiled wide and Jisung returned the gesture. One thing was clear from that moment. That look. This would not be the end of their shenanigans.

And it was not.

Over the next several weeks Minho snuck out each night and ran to the little tree house in the woods. The two vowed to be best friends with the only promise being that Jisung could not come during the day. They ran around on the ground and shot fire balls at leaves, Minho discovered he was older and teased Jisung about it constantly, they would hold up sticks and watch them burn and always Minho wanted to see the very special trick with his sketch papers.

One would say it was incredible how close they grew in so little time. Minho never told anyone at school or home about his secret best friend with superpowers, worried it would ruin the "specialness" of it. Jisung never talked about where he was from or where he ran off too, just that it was some place far away called Preeminent. They mostly talked about Minho and his life.

All was good until one night nearly a month after their first meeting, Minho let it slip to his little brother and suddenly their father knew too. Shocked and seemingly furious, the older's father took him to a psychologist that forced the story from Minho and it was revealed that he was lucid dreaming each night. To say Minho was disappointed was beyond and understatement. He was devastated that his special friend Jisung hadn't been real all along. The psychologist told him to try and forget about Jisung, and that when he lucid dreams to not go out to the woods, otherwise the dreams would never stop happening and he could get very sick obsessing over them.

It was so much to take in and Minho had been quiet the entire ride home. He barely ate his dinner and Jeongin kept making fun of his "fake dreams" which cut a little deeper into the eleven year old than it should have. The whole thing felt ridiculous, that he could have been stupid enough to give into his dream whims so easily, that he actually believed there was someone out there with superpowers, and especially that he had a best friend from who knows where. It made sense. How stupid it all had been after that day.

Minho went to bed with reasurrances from his father that nothing was wrong with him and that he'd be safe if he just didn't give in. So he slept. And when he inevitably "woke up"...

He did not go to the woods.

He never did again. The dreams stopped and slowly Minho forgot about the fantasy and it was like Jisung had never existed. He grew older, went through some personal discovery and awkwardness with his sexuality, got a car, a few bad grades, learned to dance, and started his senior year with hopes of graduating and becoming a kpop idol.

His life was normal, as it always should have been.


	2. Chapter One

"I'm not saying I wouldn't be open to the idea but..." Minho glanced sideways with a certain look at his friend and then slammed his locker shut.

"But you're totally saying that you wouldn't," Hyunjin rolled his eyes, chuckling. "Whatever, I've gotta get to class."

"Hang on!" Minho stepped forward before the younger could walk away and bit down on his lip nervously. His voice got quieter, just barely. "I was wondering if you'd wanna... hang out tonight?"

Hyunjin pursed his lips into a thin smirk. "Hanging out as in..?"

"As in," he stepped closer and lowered his head. Cheeky suggestion was permeating his tone. "Going to the mall and then... back to my place and..."

The younger bubbled up into a fit of excited giggles and slapped Minho on the arm. He looked around at their peers and then back at his friend. He nodded. Minho smiled and nodded back.

"It's a date?" He dared.

Hyunjin only blushed a bit and smiled. "A date." He ran off quicker than Minho could think of anything else to respond with. Which was fine because he was internally freaking out anyways, until someone else plopped up to walk beside him to class.

"You just asked out Hwang Hyunjin, didn't you?!" Seungmin piped teasingly.

"I refuse to disclose that information."

"Honestly, hyung, you only hang out with people younger than you I don't know how you don't expect to get teased."

Minho hummed, unamused. "You know my brother so obviously. Oh no look, there's my classroom, well too bad so sad gotta-"

Seungmin pushed the older in the midst of an unnecessary twirl into his biology room and Minho nearly tripped over his own feet. The younger laughed and waved with a cheeky grin and walked away. "Bye!"

Minho shook his head. Now he really was wondering why he hung out with so many younger people. He walked over to his desk and sunk down in the chair, knowing he had a least a bit of time to study that he obviously wouldn't spend studying and instead just staring at the paper blankly. It wasn't like he didn't _try _to study but every time he did he felt his mind going numb and he could only stare, he could never focus his energy on it enough to get anything done. Which was fine because he got good grades anyways but regardless it was not a good habit to keep.

Try as he must, he just couldn't get it off his mind. The fact that Hyunjin had accepted his offer was enough to keep him smiling for days. The two had been good friends since practically the beginning of high school and even formed a small dance group together- though the other members had either graduated or left the group eventually. Minho had probably the biggest crush on the younger since junior year and though his friends always assured they knew Hyunjin felt the same he'd always been hesitant to ask. Now with the conformation Minho felt that if he wasn't in a classroom full of students he could break out into an endlessly happy dance.

He sneakily pulled out his phone and typed out a quick text to Hyunjin to meet him at the mall at 5 o'clock and then shoved it back in his pocket when the second bell rang. Students settled down and the teacher finally got up from his desk to start the lesson.

One thing was for sure, today was going to be a long day.

<~>

Minho sighed and slid another jacket off his shoulders and tossed it onto his bed. He turned sharply, scanning his closet once more and pulling out another one. He gazed over himself hopefully in the mirror and tilted his head. It took a long moment for him to finally accept this as the final look, a pair of purposefully worn blue jeans, a white tee, and a black jacket with subtle green accents on the sleeves and aglets. His blondish hair was parted slightly- he remembered Hyunjin expressing that he thought the older looked good that way- and he'd even put a tiny bit of makeup on to make his face look smoother and his eyes stand out.

This was the first time in a while he was getting ready for a date, and the first time he'd ever felt so sick doing so. His stomach kept doing flops and he was constantly smiling to himself in excitement. He had to force himself to calm down as he sprayed a bit of body spray for the finishing touch. He didn't know if Hyunjin would even notice the subtle smell but he did it regardless.

One last glance in the mirror, a self assuring smile pulling at his lips, and then he hobbled over and unplugged his phone from the charger and his wallet in his pocket. He checked his phone quickly, texting Hyunjin that he was on his way, and put it too in his pocket before heading downstairs. 

"Bye dad! I'm going to the mall with Hyunjin!" He called into the living room where his father was watching tv.

"Okay have fun!" the middle aged man yelled back. "Let me know if you're staying the night!" And he was out the door and on the sidewalk in an instant.

Minho appreciated that his father didn't really mind where he went these days. He was a senior after all, and he'd proven he always was where he said he was going and never did anything bad. Jeongin had gotten the bad end of that stick after being caught trying to sneak out and hang out with older kids a couple years back. They still didn't know if he'd planned on doing anything bad, Jeongin just liked being around older people. Minho guessed it made him feel more mature. But nevertheless his brother wasn't allowed out nearly as much as he was and Jeongin had made a point to complain whenever he could- which was part of the reason why Minho had left so quickly.

He walked with a skip in his step down block after block and appreciated the nature around him on such a nice day. He honestly didn't feel like anything could go wrong today and it was a breath of fresh air after how worried he'd been leading up to it. Life, for once, had gone his way and he hoped it wouldn't come back to bite him in the ass too soon. 

His heart began beating faster with each step towards the mall. He was glad it wasn't such a long walk but it allowed for less time to come to grips with the fact that he was **actually **going on a date with _Hwang Hyunjin_. Not that he shouldn't have done so already.

He spotted the black haired male leaning against one of the stone columns outside the mall and he started walking faster. He approched and cooly slid up beside the younger, who was gazing at his phone. "Why hello there," he hummed.

Hyunjin looked up and any words Minho had previously had stuck in his throat. On top of the tight black jeans and large silk, black button up, he was also wearing bright green contacts that his slyly behind his bangs. He was beyond stunning and Minho couldn't help but gape. The younger blushed.

"What?"

Minho swallowed, blinked, and looked away. "Uh... y-you look good..." he mumbled. 

  
The dark haired boy smiled, eyes scrunching up. "So do you, idiot," he slapped Minho's arm lightly. The older frowned cutely dad and gestured for them to walk in. Hyunjin reached for his hand and before they knew it the two were walking through the mall with goofy smiles stuck on their faces.

They spent the next several hours walking around, shopping, goofing off, and taking pictures together. Hyunjin was spamming his Instagram with selcas and random candid photos (he'd explained that he wanted to be an influencer and Minho remembered that). They got some food in the food court and just sat and talked for a while about their interests and futures. Getting to know Hyunjin on a deeper level felt good, made the two feel closer and like they had even more of a connection. The giddiness had worn off some and Minho figured they'd finally settled back into their friendly nature- of course with tons of blatant flirting sprinkled in.

At one point Hyunjin got ketchup on the side of his lip and Minho reached forward to wipe it off with his finger, then licking it. It was a bold move but rather than seeming weirded out Hyunjin looked a bit cheeky, a blush tinting his cheeks. Not long after that Minho picked up a rather long fry and Hyunjin frowned.

"My, that's much too long for you," he hummed and leaned forward, grabbing the end between his teeth. The oldler didn't move. They weren't more than a foot away but Hyunjin took his time biting off the end of the fry before pulling away with a smirk.

It was almost too much to stand during the walk home- by then darkness having settled in. Minho was planning on asking his dad if Hyunjin could stay over but because of a story the older had told when they were at the mall Hyunjin insisted on seeing Minho's old treehouse before. It was the perfect plan anyways, one that left the older's heart racing in anticipation.

"It's beautiful out here, hyung," Hyunjin smiled softly as he gazed at the woods around them. Minho nodded. The trees were bathed in moonlight and added a soft blue glow to everything, the wind blew quietly but with enough to rustle the leaves just a bit, and there was the soft hum of nature being alive from every angle. It was breathtaking no matter how you looked at it. Whether you were an outdoors person or not. But what truly made it special was the soft grip of Hyunjin's hand around his and the ever so often feeling of the two's shoulders bumping together when the uneven terrain made them lose their even step.

In truth Minho had not been back here for years and many of his childhood things were still there. When he was thirteen his dad had built him a small bed with a thin mattress and surely it still held the embarrassing Toy Story sheets utop it, as well as many knicknacks like little league trophies or random drawings. Maybe- no- _hopefully _Hyunjin wouldn't tease him too much.

"Up this way," Minho gestured with his free hand and Hyunjin took off anyways. "Hey! Wait!" The older ran after him but didn't reach until he was already climbing up the ladder.

Shaking his head with a smirk he climbed up after the boy and found him gaping at the interior.

Minho flushed. "Uh... you don't think it's too weird, do you?" he asked tentatively, a little out of breath from the run and the climb. Hyunjin didn't answer. "Because I haven't been here in years, like I said, and-"

"_Hyung_," Hyunjin emphasised, fingers wrapping around the older's wrist. "I think it's dorky, yes, but it's not weird." He giggled lightly.

Minho watched his eyes light up with the laughter and then turn to keep peering around. Words were lost as the older gazed, unmoving, with his lips parted slightly. Hyunjin just kept looking until finally Minho found his voice and grumbled hoarsely, "Hyunjin."

"Mm?" The younger replied softly and turned his head.

The blonde's eyes shifted down sensually. "I want to kiss you."

Hyunjin bit his lip, leaned closer, ran his hand up Minho's arm slowly to his shoulder, and whispered, "Then why don't you?"

That flipped the switch. Minho jolted forward and his hands pushed the younger forward until he slammed into the wall. The two's lips crashed over each other, heads tilting to reach each other at just the right angle. Hyunjin's plump lips felt like heaven on his. His hands guided themselves to Hyunjin's tiny waist, fingers exploring curiously. Surprisingly the younger was the first to offer tongue and Minho allowed him in without hesitation.

They kept trying to get closer to each other as the kiss deepened, until Minho's desperation got the best of him and he roughly pushed his hands back a bit to grasp around Hyunjin's butt and push him up on the wall. Instinctively the younger hopped up and wrapped his legs around Minho's waist. The older held him up and moved his lips down Hyunjin's jaw. To both their surprise it was easy to fall into each other's needs like this, it was like their bodies understood and let things flow easily without any awkwardness or awareness of how soon this was happening.

Hyunjin began making small pleasured noises and huffs of air as he leaned his head back against the wall and let Minho kiss his neck. The older felt something move deep within him, a sickeningly familiar but distant feeling that he chucked up to maybe just being horny. He was about to move back up to Hyunjin's lips when a thump startled the two.

"What was that?" Hyunjin huffed breathlessly but Minho lifted one hand to push his gaze back.

"Nothing, probably just some dumb animal," he mumbled and parted his lips for another sensual kiss.

Hyunjin giggled against the older's lips and his hands shifted to begin pulling Minho's jacket off. But the startling was not done yet, and the calling out of a voice was enough to make them jump apart and Hyunjin's feet to hit the ground alarmingly loud as Minho turned around in shock.

_ **"What the hell is going on here?!"** _


	3. Chapter Two

The two boys gaped at the entrance of the tree house where the figure who had just yelled at them was emerging into the light. Hyunjin grabbed onto Minho's shirt, frightened.

The older was hit with an eerily familiar deja vu as he stared, eyes wide. The boy was tall and thin with messy blonde hair, a grey hoodie, and sweatpants. But what made Minho freeze was his face. The eyes that pulled memories from deep within him and cheeks that somehow fully resembled a chipmunk...

"Hello?!" The boy insisted, waving his hand at the two.

"Who are you?!" Hyunjin yelled.

The boy narrowed his eyes. "Who are _you_?"

Minho still hadn't said a word, he was staring at the boy with his mouth open a bit and his heart beating faster with worry with every passing second. No, this couldn't be... _It couldn't be! _

"I'm the one that's supposed to be here! What the hell are you doing, trying to kill us?!" Hyunjin cowered behind the boy in front of him.

The blonde stranger glared at them, but his eyes shifted to look directly at Minho. He pursed his lips and squinted. "Hmmph. You look different."

"Wha-"

"Hyunjin, hit me!" Minho turned sharply to look at the younger who looked beyond confused. "Just do it, hard as you can!" Hyunjin didn't, and it frustrsted him more. "NOW!" he yelled with urgency.

And Hyunjin smacked him hard across the face. It didn't feel surreal and if fact stung and affected him just as a real slap would. "Shit," he mumbled, stepping back. "Shit shit shit!"

"Okay!" the stranger called out and stepped closer to them, reaching in his pocket. "You need to go, sorry." He pulled out what looked like a black tube and Minho frowned.

"Hang on, you're not doing shit to hi-" His words cut off with a shriek when the stranger thrusted his arm and a burst of flames brightened the room before disappearing. Hyunjin, of course, was the louder of the two. He grabbed onto Minho's shoulders and hid.

"What the fuck! What the fuck! Minho do something!" He cried.

The stranger stepped closer. "I'm sorry but you _can't _know anything!" he insisted with genuine pity.

"Can't know anything about what!? What the fuck are you on about, you demon?!" Hyunjin screamed and suddenly the stranger stopped.

He looked at the two in front in him, Minho backing up to protect Hyunjin who was nearly completely hidden behind him. They were both worried and frightened, and rightfully so. Minho was nearly shaking. He didn't think any of this could possibly be real. But then the blonde's expression was hardening and he was rushing forward and shoving Minho away.

Hyunjin screamed and the older turned quickly to stop whatever was happening but the tube was already being forced into his mouth and tipped. By now Hyunjin was against the wall once again and he was squirming to try and get away from the boy who was trying to force him to drink _whatever the hell _was in that tube. Minho couldn't think for a few seconds, but then it surfaced from his memory.

"Jisung!" He yelled, urgent. "Stop!"

The black haired boy looked at him in shock and immediately Minho regretted what he'd done. Hyunjin spat, but Jisung quickly tilted the tube higher up and then backed away. Hyunjin bent over, gripping at his throat. He was coughing.

Minho grabbed onto him to keep him from collapsing. "Hyunjin!" he called at the younger who was still coughing. "Hyunjin, what's wrong!? What did you do to him?!" He glared at Jisung.

Hyunjin suddenly stopped and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. He stood back up, almost tiredly. The look in his eyes was distant.

"Hyunjin?" Minho mumbled, trying to lean and get Hyunjin to look at him but the younger's gaze was locked on Jisung. The blonde took a step forward. He looked professional and demanding.

"You got sick and passed out." Jisung enunciated. "You should probably head home and get some rest, okay? Forget this ever happened."

Minho was about to protest when Hyunjin nodded. The black haired male stepped away and pulled himself free from Minho's grasp. He walked over to the trap door and began climbing down the ladder. Minho was speechless with shock, he didn't understand anything that was happening right now and he felt frozen and helpless. Dread was bubbling up from his stomach, but for a moment the anger was able to push it's way through first.

"Okay, _what the hell is g-_"

Jisung rushed forward and grabbed his wrists. "Shut up, you need to come with me," he demanded. His tone had darkened and now it seemed all business when he pulled Minho along with him to the balcony.

"No, no! Hang on! Why did Hyunjin just leave, what did you do to him, is he gonna be alright- oh my _god _why are you here-?" He let all the questions tumble out at once. Seemingly his regard for caution had left and all he was left with was an overwhelming sense of worry and confusion. Jisung stopped and turned around, hands on both of the older's shoulders.

"Okay," he took a breath. "My name is Han Jisung and I'm not from here. My world is in danger, and we need _you _to come and help save us."

Minho stared for a long moment until an awkward and completely fake laugh bubbled up from the put of his stomach. "Oh, that's it-" he mumbled shakily. "I'm going insane!"

Jisung huffed and pursed his lips. He clearly gave up on conversation at that point. He bent down over a small metal platform and mumbled to himself, "God it was easier to get you to believe me when we were kids..."

The older ran his fingers through his hair, pulling at it a bit. His breathing was becoming erratic and by now he'd given up on trying to calm himself. It still hadn't fully settled in his mind, the thought that if Hyunjin's slap hurt and all of this didn't feel surreally unreal then the truth of his childhood friend with superpowers wasn't so much of a dream after all. It was impossible. It was so long ago that- well he thought- he'd dreamed running through the woods with Jisung and shooting fireballs at leaves and sticks. So long ago that he believed there was someone out there who could do such things wholeheartedly and without question. So long ago that the memory of the odd feeling throughout his body had left and the sight of the bright fire receeded into the back of his subconscious.

And now here stood the fully named and fully grown Han Jisung, who'd shot out flames at Minho to keep him back and put some sort of weird spell over Hyunjin to make him cough and then for some reason go home.

Perhaps he really was going insane.

He hadn't been paying attention to whatever Jisung was doing but now the blonde was up once again and peering at him cautiously. "Don't... freak out, okay?" he muttered slowly, but shrugged. "Nevermind you already are." He lifted one foot and brought it down over a strange button on the platform and light bursted out from the bottom.

Minho was shrieking again but Jisung grabbed tight onto his wrist and yanked him forward. The light enveloped his sight completely and it felt like his insides might explode. For a second he could do nothing. Weightlessness lifted his feet from the ground and the only thing he could feel was Jisung's hand on him and that still strange feeling he hardly remembered from his "dreams".

Slowly the light began to recede and then in an instant it flashed away and the ground returned underneath his feet. He closed his eyes, feeling sick, and stumbled forward with the pull of Jisungs hand. He opened his eyes expecting to see woods.

Instead he was greeted with an open alleyway and strange looking buildings in the distance. The stone beneath his feet was an unfamiliar off-grayish colour, the buildings on either side were worn and covered in plant overgrowth. But outside of those most obvious facts Minho could no longer take in any more.

He could only scream at the top of his lungs.


End file.
